‘Real World: San Francisco’ Alum Sean Sasser Dead at 44

Sean Sasser, who was best known as “Real World: San Francisco” cast member Pedro Zamora’s boyfriend on the third season of MTV series, has died. He was 44.

Sasser and Zamora, both HIV-positive, found love while Zamora starred on the show. They ultimately exchanged wedding rings towards the end of the season. Zamora, who had full-blown AIDS while shooting the series, died shortly after its final episode aired, in November 1994.

Sasser went on to find love again with fellow AIDS activist Michael Kaplan. They lived in Washington, D.C., and Sasser was a pastry chef at the time of his death. Another “Real World” alum, Dan Renzi, wrote on Queerty that the cause of death was mesothelioma, a lung cancer often linked to AIDS patients.